Falls for raising and lowering life-boats.



P. M. WOTTON.

FALLS FOR. RAISING AND LOWERING LIFE BOATS.

APPLICATION FILED DEG.1, 1913.

Patented Jan. 26, 1915.

1 H E NORRIS PE TERS PETER M. WOTION, OF BRISTOL, ENGLAND.

FALLS FOR RAISING AND LOWERING LIFE-BOATS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 26, 1915.

Application filed. December 1, 1913. Serial No. 804,063.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, PETER M. WOTTON, a subject of the King of Great Britain, and resident of the city of Bristol, in the county of Somerset, England, have invented new and useful Improvements in Falls for Raising and Lowering Life-Boats, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to improvements in falls for raising and lowering the lifeboats of vessels and the primary object is to provide means to hold the lower fall blocks against turning over when the falls are being raised and raveling the ropes.

A further object is to provide means for Y maintaining the passengers equally distributed to port and starboard during loading and lowering of the boat.

Another object is to provide a support for persons taking their places in the boat.

The style of fall generally used consists of a pair of blocks each having three sheaves so that there are seven strands of rope in the fall. of rope is taken over the remote, or outside sheaves of a pair of falls. \Vhen a boat has been lowered and it is desired to haul up the fall light the lift comes on the outside sheaves so that the blocks have a tendency to tip toward one another. This is due to the great length and weight of rope which prevents the lift being distributed equally to all sheaves. In practice the result, invariably. is that the lower block turns over and tangles the ropes. Further hoisting only makes the tangle worse and as there are from 300 to 500 feet of rope in each fall, on an ocean going vessel, the untangling is a big undertaking. Experiment has shown that a weight of 250 pounds is not sufficient to hold the block in proper position.

This invention aims to overcome the disadvantage by providing a substantially rigid connection between the two lower blocks. This connection is in the form of a telescoping member connected at each end with a block, a knuckle joint being placed between each block and the telescopic member to enable the blocks to swivel when a boat is swung out and to permit limited movement of the blocks if one end of the boat is lowered faster than the other, but to absolutely prevent the blocks from turning over during raising of the falls.

In the drawings which illustrate the in- For various reasons the last turn vention :Figure 1 is a side elevation of the device. Fig. 2 is a partial plan view. Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical longitudinal sec tion. Fig. 4 is a partial elevation of the device applied to a slightly different form of block. Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view showing a modification.

Referring more particularly to the draw-- ings 11 designates the lower fall blocks and 12 the spindle of the block upon which the sheaves 18 run. The last bend of rope, that is the one to which the hoisting force is applied, is designated 14.

In the preferred form of device each of the spindles 12 is provided with a bifurcated head 15, the slot thereof being arranged in a horizontal plane. A knuckle joint 16 is pivotally mounted between the bifurcations and swings in a horizontal plane. The adjacent ends of the knuckles are bifurcated at 17 and have pivotally mounted between their bifurcations one end of a rod 18, adapted to swing in a vertical plane. These bars are each formed with a lug 19 arranged to abut the knuckle member and limit the bars angle of movement to approximately 90. The free ends of the bars 18 are slidably mounted in opposite ends of a tube 20, each bar having a groove 21 formed therein engaged by a set screw 22; in the tube. These set screws act as limit stops and prevent disengagement of the tube and bars. A pin 23 is provided passing through each bifurcated spindle head 12) and through an eye 24 in the knuckle, when the knuckle and spindle are in line.

In Fig. 4 the device is shown applied to a table block. In this form the block is provided with a table 25, the purpose of which is to hold the rope on the sheaves in the event of the block inverting. A bifurcated member 26 may be attached to the table, corresponding to the pin 12. It will, however, be obvious that the knuckle may be attached to the spindle in this form as in any other. In fact, attachment to the pin is always preferable as it places the weight of the bar lower on the block and reduces the tendency of the block to run around in the rope. The alternative form shown in Fig. 5 embodies the use of a spring 27 which acts as a buffer and may be used on the bars 18, as shown, or in any other desired manner.

The operation of the device is extremely simple. The joint connection to the spindles allows the blocks to swing freely in a horizontal plane through an angle of more than 180 when the boats are being swung out. The joints between the knuckles and bars allow one block to be lowered more than another, as frequently occurs when lowering boats. When the blocks have been disengaged from the lowered boat and are'being raised, the lugs 19 engage the knuckles and hold the blocks against turning over, as

- will be clearly seen from Figs. 1 and The telescopic connection between the blocks elongates when the blocks are lowered unequally and when the boats are being swung out and prevents the blocks being dragged above the keel and will prevent passengers throwing themselves from side to side of the boat if it rocks during lowering. It also acts as a hand rail when passengers are taking their places. After a boat has been swung out and the blocks have assumed their proper relation to the bar, as shown in the drawings, the pin 23 will drop into the eye 24 to hold the block against oscillation.

lVhile the preferred form of'the device has been shown, also the most simple, itis obvious that numerous changes may be made in'the details of construction as long as the connection between the blocks remains elongatable and rigid against fiexion. The double joints shown may be replaced with'a ball and socket or any other suitable form of joint. The last bend of the fall ropes have been shown in the drawings on the remote faces of the blocks, so that the tendency is for these blocks to tilt upwardly and inwardly, and the cam is therefore arranged to resist this movement. If the last bend of the fall ropes is on the adjacent sheaves of the blocks, the cam arrangementmay be the same as shown or may be inverted, or the joint may be ontheouter side of the block and connected to thebar by'means of a yoke surrounding the block, as indicated in dotted lines, Fig. 2.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is I '1. In a device of the character described,

the combination with fall blocks of a tele-.

scoping member connecting saidblocks, and joints betweenthe ends of said telescoping member and blocks arranged to give limited movement to the blocks and to hold same against turning over under unequal tension of the fall ropes.

2. In a device of the character described,

the combination with a pair of fall blocks of a telescopic bar extending between said blocks, and double joints between the ends of said bar and the blocks arranged to give the blocks free movement in a horizontal plane and limited movement in a vertical plane.

8. A device of the character described, comprising the combination with fall blocks of a telescopicbar arranged between said blocks, joints between said bar and blocks giving'the blocks free movement in a horizontal plane and limited movement in a vertical plane,and means limiting the telescoping action of said bar.

4. A device of the character described, comprising the combination with fall blocks of a bifurcated member carried by each block, a bifurcated knuckle pivoted between the bifurcations of each of said members of an elongatable connection between said "blocks arranged to give the blocks free movement in a horizontal plane and limited movement in a vertical plane, and arranged to hold the blocks against upsetting by unequal tension of the fall ropes.

In witness whereof, I havehereunto set my hand, in'the presence of two witnesses.

PETER M. \VQTTON. lVitnesses S. R. W. ALLEN,

G. M. MORELA'ND.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by" addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D; C. 

